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Ninety per cent of GPs feel "pressured" to prescribe antibiotics, a survey has revealed.

There are now concerns about the resistance to antibiotics as they are handed out so frequently. Credit: PA

The Longitude Prize survey, which questioned more than 1,000 doctors in the UK, also found 28 per cent had prescribed antibiotics several times a week even if they were unsure it was medically necessary.

And 45 per cent of GPs said they had done so even though they knew it would not alleviate the patient's condition.

The findings come after Public Health England experts revealed earlier this month that the number of patients given antibiotics for minor ailments has soared in recent years.